Piercing through moles?
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Wednesday October 1st, 2008 @ 9:17 PM
Filed under: Nose
I want to get my nose pierced but I have a clear mole right where I’d like to get it done. Is it possible to pierce through it, or would/could the piercing be right next to it?
I’m not familiar with “clear moles”, but it is best to leave moles well-enough alone. No piercing through them. The piercing would likely heal fine, but you will increase the chances of something that is probably fairly benign becoming problematic. The piercing should be able to be done near the mole…just not through it.
Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Leave a comment | Trackback
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11 Responses to “Piercing through moles?”
Seriously?
C’mon Derek, please be a little bit more informative than the typical piercer/witch-doctor diagnosis. This is something that has really irked me lately and I guess this post burst the bubble… Ever find it strange how most piercers are not medical professionals? Trained plastic surgeons? Ever stepped foot inside a Med-School? No, and while you might have take a blood born pathogens course or two you are ALL mainly going with trial and error through procedures that you really know very little about from a medical perspective. So Derek, I challenge you to explain why piercing through a mole (a benign cell proliferation) would increase the risks of it becoming problematic - I assume you are referring to melanoma.
p.s. Most moles are almost subdermal and are pierced through quite often without anyone knowing it…
Kent on October 2nd, 2008 at 12:29 amMaybe they mean a fleshy colored mole, not a lemmy type/hair growing out of it/dark mole.
Unless it was Monty mole from super Mario bros… That screams cool and I wouldn’t do anything to it either.
And a nose piercing by any other name is still a nose piercing…
scenester gates on October 2nd, 2008 at 7:46 pmSorry Derek, I have to respectfully disagree with you on this one (we all know you’re anti-mod anyway :P).
In theory there’s no reason piercing a (benign) mole should be different to piercing scar tissue - if the anatomy suits, you’re probably fine.
What you’re inferring is that piercing a benign mole will potentially increase the risk of cancer. While this is possibly true statistically, cancer is a very complex biological phenomenon; the currently accepted model requires a core of 7 independent factors to be fulfilled to risk a cell going awry and causing, in this case, a melanoma.
Even the nastiest viral and bacterial pathogens would only be capable of inducing maybe 3 factors during healing (immune response and growth factors come to mind). Once healing is complete, the cells will repopulate and function normally again. If it heals, the risk of complication is virtually nil. This basically means that if a piercing becomes cancerous, the person was already strongly predisposed towards it.
More to the point, exactly the same situation could arise in a piercing anywhere on the body. Or a minor scrape or cut for that matter. So yes, piercing could mean the difference between cancer and good health, but it’s probably somewhat lower in risk than an indoor lightning strike.
I admit this is a little outside my field, if I’m wrong I’m sure I’ll be corrected…
redeye on October 3rd, 2008 at 1:29 amOkay, I have to speak up about this one. First of all, its not fair to jump down Derek’s throat. Kent stated that Derek probably hasnt been to med school. Well, I think the majority of us posting and reading haven’t been to med school, so really, none of us should talk unless you have been to med school.
Bev on October 3rd, 2008 at 11:07 amOn that note, I would like to put in my two cents.
I had a cancerous mole removed a few years back. The doctor (who went to med school) said this was a direct result of me picking at it leaving an open space for bacteria/dirt to get in. whether this is a true statement or him just trying to scare me into not picking at my moles, I don’t know. But the point is, we are not doctors, and the only way for this person to know if piercing through a mole is safe or not, is to speak to a open minded doctor about it.
Kent: I’m sorry my voodoo, hocus-pocus answer had to be the one to burst your bubble of irritation. I sure hope that bubble wasn’t a mole. Anyway…
You’re absolutely correct…I’m a piercer. No medical school. No medical training. I’ve never claimed to be anything more than a piercer. I’ve never claimed that my experience and knowledge comes from any sort of medical training. As with many professions, my knowledge and experience comes from practical application, independent “research”, networking with other professionals and taking seminars/courses taught by other professional as well as medical professionals.
Since I’m not trying to diagnose or treat people, I don’t really see where my lack of medical training comes in to play.
As for your challenge…I can’t explain it without doing some additional research. The advice I gave was based upon asking questions of three different general practitioners and two dermatologists over the history of my career (granted, it’s been about 5 years since I discussed it with anyone). When I asked the question of each of these people…the answer was the same…it’s best to leave it alone to avoid the risk of complications in the future.
So, while I haven’t been to medical school, my answer was based upon information from 5 different people who have been to medical school. Maybe it makes me a bad witch-doctor/piercer, but I felt that was enough information for me to make a decision about whether or not I would pierce through moles.
Perhaps I should have qualified my answer a bit more.
Redeye: Thank you for the additional insight…and for acknowledging my anti-mod stance.
The information you gave is interesting to know, but it probably isn’t going to change whether or not I do piercings through moles. At the end of the day, I’m the one who has to be comfortable with the procedures I do because I’m the one who is responsible for them…no one else.
But for the fun of it, I’ll change my initial answer. Kids…go crazy. Piercer through all your moles.
Derek Lowe on October 3rd, 2008 at 12:10 pmDone and done
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zer8uKM_g4c
And yes Bev, while I may not be a Dr. yet, I most certainly am studying my ass off for the MCAT. I aspire to one day be a kick-ass doctor with loads of tattoos and piercings…that must all be hidden
And Derek, thank you for your statement and for being cool enough to not think that you are the superman of all that is body-mod…like some practitioners.
My two cents:
Kent on October 3rd, 2008 at 3:04 pmMelanoma is caused by mutation in the DNA of melanocytes (cells that make up the bottom layer of your epidermis). For this to happen you need free radicals (molecules or atoms with an unpaired electron). Free radicals need an electron like none other so they pull them from whatever they can get and this causes mutations in DNA called pyrimidine dimmers (extra C-C linkages btwn bases). It is widely accepted that to get free radicals in the first place, you need radiation (extra electrons) like UV (that’s you your mum made you wear sun screen). Though there has been a fair bit of research done on bacteria that cause other kinds of cancer, none have been found to cause melanoma. Conclusion: yeah, cancer is scary but there’s no need for us or certain people in the medical profession to flip out and make unfounded assumptions.
Kent: I’m about the furthest thing from the “superman of all that is body-mod”. Just ask anyone who knows me.
Derek on October 3rd, 2008 at 3:36 pmhere’s a quick question…how does one know the mole is benign or not? Most people do not get their moles looked at and quit often even if they do, its a doctor looking at it visually and thats it. Although now they have solars scans,etc.
if someone asked me to pierce through their mole my first question would be to ask if they’ve had the mole tested. If they haven’t had it tested than they should do so.
ps: Derek although you may not be “superman of all that is body-mod” you’re a super man to many of us
Warren Hiller on October 3rd, 2008 at 7:23 pmI don’t think it matters if it’s benign or not… it’s kindof like
benign mole + piercing = a pierced mole
malignant mole + piercing = a pierced cancerous mole
So the piercing doesn’t change whether or not it’ll give you problems in the future. Man, I’d love to be able to tell people that I pierced cancer…
OmniScent on October 3rd, 2008 at 10:24 pmI have a lot of moles and all my tattoos and piercings avoid them. I have one tattoo with two moles and are not colored over.
My friend has moles and he has them covered.
To me….I am going to leave them alone.
Melody on October 3rd, 2008 at 11:51 pmwhy not just get it pierced on the other side?
cc skye. on October 9th, 2008 at 9:10 amLeave a Comment